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BARRON-ESS  II 

282    eggs    in    one    year,    Second    North    American    Egg-Laying    Competition 


A  Complete  Treatise 

OF  THE  METHODS  USED  BY 

Tom  Barron 


ENGLAND 


IN   PRODUCING 

HEAVY   LAYERS 


Published   by 

TOM  BARRON  PUBLISHING  CO. 

1631    N.  Fifth  Street 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 


PRICE    $L00 


6  3(:.  ^ 


COPYRIGHT    1914 

TOM    BARRON   PUBLISHING   CO. 

PUBLISHER 

PHILADELPHIA 


PRESS    OF 

HATHAWAY    a    BROTHERS 

PHILADELPHIA 


^ 


X 


''^^ 


BARRON-ESS    IV 
256    eggs    in    one    year,    Second    North    American    Egg-Laying    Competition 


INTRODUCTORY 


Doing  over  nature,  forcing  the  hen  to  lay  eggs  to 
an  extent  heretofore  impossible  has  been  the  life  work 
of  the  most  justly  celebrated  of  poultry  breeders,  Tom 
Barron,  of  Catforth,  England ;  doing  the  very  thing  that 
nature  made  no  provision  for  is  the  result  of  Tom 
Barron's  work  with  hens,  a  work  teeming  with  success 
to  a  degree  that  no  American  breeder  has  attained. 

Manufacturing  at  will  fowls  of  any  selected  breed 
or  variety  that  lay  more  than  the  fabled  "Goose  of  the 
golden  egg,"  is  to  Barron  as  easy  of  accomplishment 
as  is  the  failure  of  the  ordinary  poultry  breeder  to 
secure  the  two-hundred-egg  hen. 

England's  poultry  annals  are  emblazoned  with 
the  victories  of  this  poultry  wonder-worker;  pullets 
that  lay  282  eggs  in  365  days,  after  shipment  from 
their  English  home  to  America,  five  of  them  averaging 
238  eggs  in  a  year,  under  government  supervision, 
between  set  dates,  November  1st,  1912,  to  October 
31st,  1913,  and  without  recording  any  eggs  laid  out- 
side  of  these  inclusive  dates. 

The  poultry  world  stands  aghast  at  such  records 
as  have  been  made  by  the  hens  of  this  exceptional 
worker  in  egg  production;  since  1906  Tom  Barron's 
layers  have  won  prizes,  almost  numberless,  in  all  of 
the  English  competitions  and  smashed  every  European, 
Canadian  and  American  record  for  pens  or  individuals. 


White  Wyandottes,  Buff  Plymouth  Rocks,  White 
Leghorns  and  Buff  Orpingtons,  have  all  come  under 
his  magic  touch.  Think  of  six  Wyandotte  pullets,  lay- 
ing 98  eggs  each,  in  six  winter  months!  Again,  a 
Wyandotte  pullet  is  bred  so  that  she  lays  283  eggs  from 
November  25th,  1909,  to  November  24th,  1910! 
Another  in  1911-12  laid  263  eggs  and  at  another  com- 
petition still  another  laid  275  eggs  in  a  recorded  year! 

Equally  successful  have  been  Barron's  Buff 
Orpingtons,  one  splendid  pullet  laying  103  eggs  in 
the  1910-11  Grimley,  Worcester,  England,  16  winter 
weeks'  (112  days)  contest,  the  four  worst  months  of 
the  year! 

Buff  Rocks  have  been  just  as  pliable  in  Barron's 
hands,  winning  tw^o  competitions  in  England,  his  males 
used  in  breeding  pens  all  being  the  sons  of  mothers 
with  pullet  records  of  245  eggs  each,  in  a  year. 

One  of  the  Buff  Rock  pullets  entered  in  The 
North  American  Third  Competition,  has  a  record  of 
125  eggs  in  twenty-three  weeks.  Needless  to  say  it  is 
direct  from  Barron's  yards. 

From  1906  to  1913  inclusive,  in  11  different 
competitions  in  England  and  America  enough  silver 
and  gold  medals,  silver  cups  and  other  valuable  prizes 
have  been  won  by  Barron's  birds  to  purchase  a  king's 
ransom. 

Barron's  winnings  are  given  below  in  detail: 

White    Wyandottes 

1907-8 — First,  Utility  Poultry  Club's  Laying  Competi- 
tion. 


1908-9 — Second  and  First  Class  certificate  and  other 
prizes,  Burnley  Laying  Competition, 
four  pullets  laying  256  eggs  in  sixteen 
winter  weeks. 

1909-10 — Silver  medal  and  Second  Class  certificate, 
Utility  P.  C.  Laying  Competition  at 
Barron's   Grange,    Iden   Rye. 

1909-10 — First  Place,  six  pullets,  586  eggs,  six  winter 
months.  Street  Laying  Competition, 
Somerset. 

1909-10 — Seventh  prize,  5  74  eggs,  six  winter  months, 
same  event  as  above. 

1912-13 — Second  Place,  First  Class  certificate,  four 
pullets,  249  eggs,  four  months.  North- 
ern Utility  Poultry  Society's  Competi- 
tion, Burnley. 

1912-1  3 — Third  Prize,  First  Class  certificate  and  gold 
medal  at  Harper-Adams  Agricultural 
College,  twelve  months.  Utility  Poultry 
Club's  Competition,  at  Newport,  Salop. 

White    Leghorns 

1906-7 — Highest  non-setters,  Utility  Poultry  Club 
Laying  Competition, 

1908-9 — Highest  at  Street  (Somerset)  Competition, 
averaging  93  eggs  per  bird,  six  winter 
months. 

1909-10 — Silver  medal  and  Second  Class  certificate. 
Utility  Poultry  Club  Laying  Competi- 
tion at  Rye. 


1909-10 — Fourth  Prize,  best  non-setters,  Burnley 
Competition. 

1909-10 — Highest  position  at  Street  (Somerset). 

1910-1  1  — Second  Class  certificate,  second  highest 
non-setters,    Grimley,   Worcester. 

191  1-1 2 — Second  and  Fifth  Prizes,  two  First  Class 
certificates  at  Burnley,  295  and  268 
eggs,   respectively. 

191  1-1  2 — Fourth  Prize,  two  silver  medals,  and  other 
prizes  in  the  Philadelphia  North  Amer- 
ican International  Egg  Laying  Compe- 
tition.   Two  birds  died  during  contest. 

1912-13 — Silver  medal,  First  Class  certificate,  Utility 
Poultry  Club,  in  the  Harper-Adams 
twelve  months  Laying  Competition. 

1912-13 — International  First  Prize,  Second  Philadel- 
phia North  American  International  Egg 
Laying  Competition.  Five  birds  laid 
1170  eggs. 

1912-13 — International  First  Prize,   cups  and  medals, 
Missouri  State  International  Egg  Laying 
Competition,     Mountain     Grove,     Mo. 
Ten  birds  laid  2073  eggs. 
Buff  Orpingtons 

1910-11 — England's  Champion   Record,    103   eggs  in 
1  1 2    days,    at    Grimley,    Worcester,    in 
the  U.   P.   C.   Laying  Competition,   six- 
teen winter  weeks. 
Buff    Rocks 

191  1  - 1  2 — Fourth  Prize,  silver  medal  and  First  Class 
certificate.  Utility  Poultry  Club  Com- 
petition, Grimley. 

1911-12 — Second  Class  certificate  was  w^on  by  Buff 
Rock  pullets  at  Burnley. 

1913-14— First  Prize,  Third  Philadelphia  North 
American  International  Egg  Laying 
Competition. 

10 


What  Barron  has  done,  however,  is  laid  bare  for 
the  betterment  of  poultrydom. 

His  success  was  not  dependent  upon  any  super- 
human knowledge;  a  clear  objective,  intense  purpose, 
close  observation  and  abject  determination  are  re- 
sponsible for  his  success. 

Through  generation  after  generation  heredity 
found  Tom  Barron  a  shoemaker  at  his  majority,  his 
only  asset  a  dream  of  better  things.  Persistent  and 
provident,  saving  today  that  he  might  buy  tomorrow, 
Barron  grappled  with  fortune,  good  or  bad,  for  better 
or  worse,  when  his  father,  in  1904,  turned  over  his 
little  farm  of  three  acres,  two  cows  and  twenty  fowls, 
and  Tom  purchased  it,  retaining  his  cobblery  against  a 
possible  rainy  day.  But  it  never  rained,  except  the 
downpours  were  golden,  and  soon  the  farm  grew^ 
from  three  to  twenty-three  acres,  ten  for  the  cows, 
which  furnish  the  skim  milk  to  rear  the  poultry,  and 
thirteen  for  the  poultry  plant  and  home. 

From  the  cobbler's  bench  to  affluence  through 
poultry  culture  is  a  far  cry;  Barron  is  a  man  in  com- 
fortable circumstances,  his  present  easy  condition 
having  been  brought  about  through  his  methods.  The 
success  of  these  methods  warrant  their  adoption. 

In  this  work  his  system  of  incubation,  rearing  and 
brooding,  feeding  at  all  ages,  housing  for  breeding 
purposes,  selecting  the  breeders,  housing  layers  and 
feeding  them  are  given  in  detail. 

How  Barron  feeds  his  breeding  stock  is  of  the 
greatest  value  to  beginners  in  poultry  raising  and  can 
be  put  to  the  best  of  use  by  the  experienced  pultry- 
man. 

11 


Beyond  all  other  values  or  virtues  attaching  to 
this  work  the  system  of  mating  to  produce  layers  in 
any  breed  or  variety,  stands  monumentally  before  the 
public  as  the  only  purely  scientific  method  of  mating 
yet  evolved  for  the  purpose  of  egg  production  along 
ascending  lines,  whereby  the  greatest  number  of  heavy 
layers  w^ill  result  annually. 

One  year's  work  along  the  lines  laid  down  by 
Barron  will  lay  the  foundation  for  an  increased  effic- 
iency in  any  flock  of  fowls,  good,  bad  or  otherw^ise. 

THE  PUBLISHERS. 


12 


13 


CHAPTER  I 
Rearing   Young   Chickens 

Close  to  my  residence  is  a  large  brooder  house — 
the  chief  one — which  is  1  26  feet  long  and  1  6  feet  wide. 
A  picture  of  the  inside  and  outside,  with  the  runs,  is 
shown  here.  A  passageway  down  the  center  is  four 
feet  wide  and  doors  of  the  little  pens  on  either  side 
open  directly  from  this  passage.  With  the  exception 
of  a  foot  of  boarding  skirting  the  floors,  the  whole 
length,  forming  the  pens,  is  small  mesh  wire  from  roof 
to  floor. 

There  are  two  distinct  portions  of  the  brooder 
house.  One  part  containing  the  hovers  is  cut  off  com- 
pletely by  a  wood  partition  from  the  other  with  a  door 
through  it  in  the  passage.  It  is  thus  possible  to  keep 
the  hover  portion  more  free  from  draughts. 

The  chicks  are  brought  from  the  incubator  house 
in  warm,  covered  boxes  and  put  into  this  hover  section. 

The  brooder  system  in  use  consists  of  hot-water 
pipe  carrying  boxes  which  run  the  whole  length  of  this 
part  of  the  passage.  These  boxes,  eighteen  inches 
deep,  are  cut  off  into  sections  opposite  their  respective 
little  pens,  which,  in  this  portion  of  the  building,  are 
four  feet  square  and  accommodate  some  seventy 
chicks.  These  boxes  are  fitted  to  the  floor.  There  is 
a  little  space  between  the  bottom  of  them  and  the 
actual  floor,  allowing  air  to  find  its  way  in,  keeping 
the  floor  of  the  hover  cool  and  the  air  fresh. 

15 


The  warm  air  having  been  breathed  by  the 
chicks  leaves  through  the  wire  mesh  at  the  top  of 
the  boxes  so  that  a  constant  current  of  air  is  circulat- 
ing through  the  hovers. 

The  floor  of  the  hover  is  of  wood,  with  sandy 
earth  spread  over  it,  and  these  floors  although  fitting 
fairly  tight  in  the  sections  are  movable  up  and  down, 
nearer  the  pipes  or  away,  as  may  be  desired,  by  means 
of  cog  arrangements  at  the  sides.  These  floors  can  be 
taken  out,  cleaned  and  the  earth  material  renewed 
so  that  the  floors  are  always  sweet  and  clean,  and 
being  raised  from  the  ground,  have  not  the  dampness 
of  the  earth. 

The  box  sections  are  2 '/2  feet  wide.  One  foot 
of  this  nearest  the  passage  is  v/ired  over,  and  being 
hinged,  forms  an  open  topped  lid  so  that  the  chicks 
can  be  easily  put  in  or  taken  out.  The  other  1  Yi  feet 
is  over  the  pipes.  Rods  hold  the  felts  which  hang 
down  in  1  Yl  inch  strips  on  either  side  of  the  length  of 
the  pipes.  This  also  has  a  lid  over  it  so  that  the  felts 
can  be  taken  out  and  cleaned  or  renewed  frequently. 
The  warm  air  is  thrown  down  on  the  backs  of  the 
chicks.  Being  fed  with  dry  feed  at  this  time  there  is 
plenty  of  light  through  the  net  covered  top  to  scratch 
for  it. 

The  box  sections  open  on  the  pen  side,  but  of 
course  until  the  chicks  are  to  be  allowed  in  the  pens 
the  small  hinged  door  of  the  box  falls  back  into  the 
pen  on  an  incline,  but  not  steep,  to  the  pen  level. 

Pen  floors,  which  are  cemented  over,  but  not  too 
finely  finished,  are  covered  with  fine  peat  moss  for 
scratching   and    are    thus    rough   and    deep    enough   to 

16 


INTERIOR  BROODER  HOUSE 
17 


keep  the  chicks  from  slipping  and  consequent  sprains. 
Besides  being  well  sky-lighted  the  room  is  also  fitted 
with  a  window  to  each  pen  (of  the  hopper  pattern) 
allowing  for  opening  and  the  fresher  air  later  on.  As 
the  chicks  develop  they  are  transferred  to  the  some- 
what larger  pens  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  passage. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  for  greater  convenience 
the  small  pens  attached  to  the  hovers  are  only  divided 
from  each  other  by  small  partitions;  this  minimizes 
the  ground  draughts  on  the  small  chicks. 

In  transferring  them  to  the  other  side  of  the 
passage  they  are  still  in  the  same  temperature,  but  have 
more  room  which  is  equivalent  to  dropping  the  heat 
somewhat. 

These  and  all  the  other  pens  in  the  building  are 
the  same  size,  namely,  seven  feet  by  five  feet.  Each 
pen  has  a  box  two  feet  each  way,  with  a  small  door 
opening  into  the  pen.  Canvas  or  some  thick  ma- 
terial is  dropped  over  the  box  and  hangs  down  partly 
over  the  door  sufficiently  high  to  allow  the  chicks  to 
run  in  and  out  freely.  A  small  glass  window  in  the 
passage  allows  one  to  see  if  the  lamp  burns  properly, 
and,  if  needing  adjustment,  this  can  be  attended  to 
from  the  passage  through  a  small  hinged  door  in  the 
wire  mesh  in  the  box. 

In  the  middle  of  the  box  is  placed  the  lamp  with 
a  steel  circular  guard  enclosing  it.  A  picture  of  the 
box,  lamp  and  guard  is  given.  The  box  is  also  covered 
with  felt  which  conserves  the  heat  as  much  as  possible. 
This  type  of  foster  mother  is  adopted  throughout  the 
building   and   the   chicks  are  transferred   here  as   they 

18 


19 


get  on.  In  the  outer  wall  of  each  pen  there  is  a  small 
door  sliding  in  grooves  and  lifted  by  rope  and  pulley 
from  the  passage.  This  gives  access  to  the  grass  runs. 
These  runs  are  seven  feet  by  fifteen  yards  long,  one 
for  each  pen.  These  are  turned  over  each  year  and 
sown  down  with  grass  seed  so  that  a  fresh  growth  is 
ready  for  the  spring  hatched  chicks.  The  chicks  have 
always  done  well  on  this  system. 

The  young  chicks  are  fed  on  grain  until  they 
are  a  fortnight  old,  the  dry  feed  being  thrown  into  the 
peat  moss,  chaff  or  other  litter.  The  soft  feed  then 
given  is  fed  to  them  on  stiff  cardboard,  or  pieces  of 
wood.  This  saves  waste.  The  pens  are  cleaned  out, 
well  limed,  and  renewed  with  litter  each  week.  Clean- 
ing and  liming  is  absolutely  necessary.  By  doing  this 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  gapes. 

There  are  eighteen  pens  on  each  side  of  the  house 
and  each  of  these  is  lit  by  acetylene  gas  from  a  jet 
about  tw^o  feet  from  the  pen  level.  The  passage  is 
also  fitted  with  jets  at  regular  intervals.  In  the  dark 
winter  months,  when  the  chicks  have  been  in  the  build- 
ing a  few  days,  it  is  lit  up  from  about  seven  in  the 
evening  until  midnight,  when  the  gas  is  automatically 
turned  off.  This  means  that  the  house  having  a  good 
light  for  several  hours  longer  the  chicks  take  so  much 
more  exercise  scratching  for  their  feed.  We  have 
found  that  this  reduces  leg  weakness  to  a  minimum. 
The  chicks  quickly  take  to  artificial  lighting  and  are 
soon  out  and  working. 

In  each  of  the  larger  sections,  that  is,  other  than 
the  hover  pens,  perches  are  put  in  so  that  the  birds 
are  induced  to  perch  early.     I  believe  in  this  method. 

20 


The  drinking  pots  are  raised  slightly  on  pieces 
of  wood  which  keeps  out  the  scratching  litter  and  the 
water  fresh.  A  great  point  is  to  frequently  change  the 
drinking   w^ater. 

It  is  advisable  to  keep  the  size  of  the  chicks  in  a 
pen  about  the  same  all  round.  If  there  are  one  or 
two  which  have  not  come  on  quite  so  quickly  as  they 
might,  but  are  still  healthy,  they  should  be  put  back 
with  chicks  somewhat  younger  and  more  of  their 
present  size.  Small  chicks  with  large  ones  never  get 
a  chance.  They  are  constantly  trampled  upon  and 
pushed  aside  from  the  feed. 


21 


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22 


CHAPTER  II 

Another  System  of  Rearing  Chickens 

We  have  on  this  farm  about  fifty  chicken-rearing 
colony  houses  with  some  1  00  grass  runs  attached.  A 
picture  of  one  of  these  is  given  with  the  box,  lamp 
and  steel  guard  used  in  it.  The  houses  are  seven  feet 
long  by  four  feet  wide.  They  are  five  feet  high  in  front 
and  four  feet  three  inches  at  back.  The  roof  in  front 
overhangs  some  six  inches  and  weather  porches  stand 
out  over  the  side  windows  to  keep  out  driving  rain  or 
snow.  It  will  be  seen  that  these  are  set  out  on  the 
passage  plan  similar  to  the  breeding  pens.  Each  house 
has  a  run  to  itself  of  ten  yards  by  fifteen  yards,  in  which 
we  put,  say,  about  sixty  or  seventy  chickens. 

We  put  a  box  which  fits  in  one  end  of  the  cabin 
in  place,  the  front  of  the  box  facing  into  the  cabin 
being  for  the  most  part  open.  In  this  the  lamp  is 
placed  with  a  circular  guard  enclosing  it  and  over  the 
box  is  dropped  a  canvas  or  some  thick  material  and 
let  fall  over  the  opening,  but  sufficiently  high  to  let  the 
chickens  run  in  and  out  to  the  warmth.  At  each  side 
of  the  door  in  front  of  the  house,  always  facing  the 
passage,  are  sliding  windows,  the  openings  being  cov- 
ered with  wire  mesh.  When  the  weather  is  suitable 
and  the  chicks  are  old  enough  these  windows  are  drop- 
ped, giving  them  as  much  fresh  air  as  possible.  The 
lamps  are  kept  burning  all  night  on  the  cold,  dark 
nights. 

When  the  chicks  are  large  enough  to  do  without 
the  heat  it  is    withdrawn,     the    boxes    removed     and 

23 


perches  put  in,  the  rests  for  these  being  already  in 
position  when  the  house  is  built.  Peat  moss  and  chaff 
is  spread  over  the  floor,  the  chickens  being  fed  with 
dry  feed  thrown  into  this. 

When  the  birds  are  old  enough  and  the  hovers 
are  removed,  w^irew^ork  frames  are  also  put  into  the 
cabins,  the  bands  of  the  frames,  cutting  off  the  angles 
of  the  buildings,  keeps  the  chicks  from  the  corners 
at  night. 

Each  grass  run  is  divided  from  the  next  one  by 
boarding  sixteen  inches  high  and  netting  above  this  a 
further  three  feet.  The  boards  check  the  cold  winds 
considerably.  When  the  cockerels  are  maturing  this 
barrier  stops  them  from  damaging  one  another,  as 
they  will  do  when  separated  by  wire  mesh  alone. 
Where  the  grass  is  uneven  in  the  run  near  the  cabin 
door,  turf  is  put  down  to  level  it  up  somewhat,  other- 
wise the  young  and  tender  birds  are  apt  to  sprain  their 
limbs. 

In  very  hot  weather  any  drinking  vessels  any- 
where on  the  farm,  and  particularly  amongst  the  young 
stock,  if  in  any  way  foul  are  entirely  emptied  and  filled 
with  fresh  water.  I  believe  any  amount  of  illness  in 
birds  during  summer  could  be  traced  to  carelessness 
in  the  matter  of  fresh  water.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
where  the  birds  are  watered  by  streams  and  these  have 
run  dry   the  birds  are   frequently  poisoned. 


24 


25 


CHAPTER   III 

Feeding  Young  Chickens 

After  hatching  in  the  incubators  on  this  farm  the 
chicks  are  not  given  any  feed  whatever  until  they  are 
twenty-four  hours  old.  From  that  time  until  they  are 
a  fortnight  old  they  are  fed  on  dry  feed  which  is  com- 
posed of  the  following: 

Wheat,    four  parts; 

Canary  seed,   one  part; 

Red  millet,   one  part; 

White  corn  grits,  one  part; 

Red  corn  grits,   one  part; 

Rice,   half  part; 

White  millet,  one  part; 

Hemp  seed,  quarter  part; 

Ants*  eggs,   half  part; 

Dried   flies,    half  part; 

Ground  kibbled  marrow  fat  peas,  half  part; 

Pinhead  oatmeal,  two  parts; 

Grit,   five  per  cent. 

This  mixture  is  thrown  into  the  litter  after  they 
have  learned  to  pick  by  putting  the  grain  on  a  stiff 
cardboard.  The  scratching  out  of  the  dry  feed  I  con- 
sider most  essential   to  the  health  of  the  chicks. 

Plenty  of  grit  is  kept  before  the  young  birds  and 
the  water  is  constantly  changed  for  fresh. 

27 


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28 


When  the  chicks  are  a  fortnight  old  this  feed  is 
dropped  in  favor  of  soft  feed,  prepared  in  the  follow- 
ing  manner: 

On  my  farm  are  ten  milch  cows,  and  the  milk 
from  them  is  run  through  the  separator.  After  the 
cream  is  taken  away,  the  skim  milk  is  put  in  reserve 
for  the  chickens.  This  fresh  sweet  skim  milk  is  put 
into  a  forty-gallon  boiler  and  into  this  is  put  a  large 
bucketful  of  rice. 

Some  ten  to  twenty  gallons  of  this  milk  will  be 
boiled  at  a  time  according  to  requirements.  It  is 
steamed  until  the  rice  and  milk  look  like  one  large 
milk  pudding.  A  galvanized  tin,  in  which  the  stuff  is 
boiled,  is  carried  to  the  mixing  trough  and  the  contents 
poured  on  the  top  of  about  thirty  pounds  of  biscuit 
meal.  This  dust  is  useful  in  that  it  not  only  is  in  itself 
a  good  food,  but  it  keeps  the  rice  and  milk  from  form- 
ing into  a  stiff  mass,  splitting  up  the  grains,  as  it  is 
mixed  in,  into  small  crumbly  pieces.  When  run 
through  a  sieve  these  are  about  the  size  of  a  pea,  suit- 
able for  the  chicks  to  pick  up  without  waste. 

The  mixture  must  on  no  account  be  sloppy.  If 
found  too  wet  a  little  more  of  the  biscuit  dust  will 
dry  it  off. 

I  do  not  believe  in  giving  young  chicks  a  wet 
sloppy  mixture.      If  anything  keep  on  the  dry  side. 

This  is  given  each  day  at  noon. 

After  the  chickens  are  a  month  old  we  feed  half 
rations  of  the  chick  feed,  given  above,  and  mix  in 
another  half  of  split  Indian  corn,  a  few  ordinary  groats, 

29 


and  wheat,  and  make  it  a  cheaper  food  eventually, 
gradually  getting  it  to  groats,  ground  oats,  wheat, 
buckwheat,  Kaffir  corn,  and  as  many  mixtures  as  pos- 
sible. 

At  the  age  of  three  months  the  chickens  are  di- 
vided into  their  respective  sexes,  the  males  being 
placed  elsewhere. 


30 


31 


CHAPTER    IV 
Housing  Layers 

Our  layers  are  housed  in  what  we  call,  in  England, 
the  semi-intensive  system.  The  flocks  are  distributed, 
some  being  housed  in  small  buildings  similar  to  the 
ones  used  for  breeding  purposes,  and  others  in  very 
large  houses.  A  picture  of  one  of  the  larger  buildings 
showing  the  inside  and  the  outside,  with  the  birds,  is 
given  elsewhere.  The  dimensions  are  seventy-two 
feet  long,  eighteen  feet  wide,  eight  feet  to  eaves,  and 
thirteen  feet  to  gables. 

In  one  of  these  400  Single  Comb  White  Leghorn 
pullets  are  accommodated  and  a  flock  of  White  Wyan- 
dottes  is  housed  in  another  similar  house.  It  has  a 
span  roof,  boarded  underneath,  with  corrugated  iron- 
work covering  the  woodw^ork. 

In  the  south  wall  are  fitted  shutters  practically 
the  whole  length,  which,  by  means  of  ropes  and  pulleys 
and  counter-balance  weights,  can  be  lifted  or  let  down 
at  will,  according  to  the  weather,  the  openings  being 
covered  with  wire  mesh.  This  makes  the  south  side 
almost  open  fronted. 

A  storm  screen,  three  feet  wide,  fixed  to  the  roof 
outside  is  immediately  above  these  openings  w^hich 
protects  the  floor  of  the  house  from  driving  rain,  or 
from  the  full  power  of  the  sun's  rays  in  close  or  hot 
weather,  as  the  case  may  be,  but  allow^s  of  plenty  of 
fresh  air  circulating  through  the  interior. 

33 


The  nest  boxes,  of  which  there  are  thirty-eight, 
are  fourteen  inches  each  way,  and  are  situated  just 
below  the  w^indows. 

The  tops  slope  sharply  from  the  w^all  to  front  of 
nest,  keeping  the  birds  from  using  this  part  as  a  perch. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  house  is  a  dropping  board 
running  the  length  of  the  building,  five  feet  broad,  and 
two    feet    six   inches    from    the    floor. 

The  perches  are  themselves  three  inches  deep  and 
one  foot  above  the  dropping  board.  They  are  ar- 
ranged transversely  along  this,  being  eighteen  inches 
from  center  to  center. 

Long  perches  incline  the  birds  to  crowd  together 
on  cold  nights,  to  get  overheated,  and  w^hen  they 
move,  to  catch  cold.  Being  split  up  into  forty  perches 
across    the    board    distributes    the    birds    more. 

Every  twelve  feet  this  dropping  board  with  its 
perches  above  is  divided  up  from  the  floor  to  the 
square  of  the  house.  The  whole  length  above  is  lathed 
over  and  covered  with  straw  and  this  stops  side  and 
down  draughts  w^inter  nights.  Partitions  can  be  taken 
out  for  the  warmer  months. 

At  each  end  of  the  building  is  a  door  eight  feet 
wide,  running  on  overhead  pulleys,  allowing  a  horse 
and  cart  to  pass  through  from  end  to  end  for  cleaning 
and   other  purposes. 

The  house  generally,  and  the  floor  in  particular, 
is  well-lighted  from  the  roof  with  twelve  windows  let 
into  the  wood  and  iron,  three  feet  by  two  feet,  also 
along  the  bottom  of  the  north  w^all,  under  the  dropping 

34 


35 


board    by    some     fourteen     windows,     twenty     inches 
square. 

The  birds  have,  therefore,  no  difficulty  in  scratch- 
ing out  their  grain  feed  from  the  litter  in  which  the 
dry  stuff  is  always  thrown.  The  litter  is  always  three 
to  four  inches  deep,  of  cut  straw,  peat  moss,  and  chaff. 

Water  is  contained  in  two  large  wooden  piggins 
mounted  on  platforms  to  keep  out  the  scratching  lit- 
ter. These  are  emptied  entirely,  scrubbed  and  refilled 
each  day,  and  more  frequently  during  hot  weather, 
if    fouled. 

Mash  feed  towards  evening  is  given  the  birds 
in  the  troughs  directly  on  the  floor,  but  the  green  feed 
of  mangles,  turnips  and  cabbage  is  put  into  specially 
made  troughs,  mounted  on  trestles,  with  a  standing 
board  for  the  birds  on  each  side  of  its  length.  Some- 
times the  green  food  is  strung  up  within  reach  of  the 
birds.  This  gives  them  fine  exercise,  particularly  dur- 
ing the  winter  months. 

In  addition  to  the  feeds  given,  dry  in  the  morn- 
ing and  soft  mash  at  night,  the  birds  always  have 
before  them  a  bran  hopper  which  contains  one  part 
ground  oats  and  three  parts  bran.  Grit  and  shell 
are   also   constantly   available. 

The  floor  of  the  house  is  raised  about  six  inches 
above  the  ground  level  outside  so  that  no  matter  how 
wet  the  w^eather  the  floor  inside  is  dry.  The  floor  of 
these  very  large  buildings  is  made  as  follows: 

About  twenty  tons  of  cinders  is  put  down,  ram- 
med, rolled  hard  and  leveled  up  into  as  perfect  a  sur- 
face as  if  the  floor  was  finished.  Then  four  tons  of 
asphalt  are  laid  over  it  and  hardened. 

36 


When  this  is  ready  a  layer  of  fine  cement  gives  a 
finish,  without  being  fine  enough  to  cause  sprains  to 
the  birds'  Hmbs.  It  is  laid  about  one  inch  thick.  This 
forms  one  of  the  best  floors  I  have  ever  used. 

Runs  are  on  both  sides  of  the  house  and  are 
reached  through  the  end  floor  windows  which  slide 
back,  two  similar  ones  having  been  also  fitted  in  the 
south  wall.  These  runs  are  used  alternately.  When 
the  birds  have  been  using  one  side  for  some  little  time 
they  are  left  cut  in  the  opposite  grass  run  and  the 
other  allowed  to  freshen.  The  two  sides  form  a  one- 
acre  grass  plot.  My  cattle  are  turned  into  these  pens 
alternately  and  help  to  keep  the  grass  from  getting 
too    long. 


37 


38 


CHAPTER  V 
Feeding  the  Layers  and  Breeding  Stock 

My  system  of  feeding  the  layers  and  breeding 
stock  is  much  the  same  as  regards  the  feed  given  all 
the  year  round,  any  difference  made  being  chiefly  in 
the  amount  fed  according  to  season  and  my  own  dis- 
cretion. 

In   the   morning  we   feed   all   the   birds   by   hand 
with  a  mixture  composed  of 
Wheat, 

Split  Indian  corn. 
Coarse  groats, 
Kaffir  corn. 

And  other  grains  to  mix  with  these  accord- 
ing to  what  can  be  bought  reasonably  cheap 
in  the  market  at  certain  times. 

But  the  more  kinds  the  better,  as  the  birds  like 
changes.  It  keeps  them  working  better  and  while 
they  work  they  keep  from  a  multitude  of  ills. 

This  is  given  fairly  early  in  the  morning  accord- 
ing to  the  light,  thrown  into  the  litter  and  sufficient 
is  given  to  keep  the  birds  working  most  of  the  day. 
If  not  working,  about  midday  a  little  more  grain  is 
given,  not  a  meal,  but  just  something  to  keep  them 
going.  We  feed  fairly  heavy  with  this  feed,  not 
stinting  them,  but  allowance  w^here  possible  is  made 
for  the  weather,  for  if  fine  enough,  they  are  better 
out  foraging  for  the  grubs  and  bugs.  But  the  point 
is   that   the   dry    feed    does   not   lay   heavy  with   them 

39 


and  cause  them  to  be  sluggish.  Besides  it  keeps  them 
constantly  occupied  scratching  the  feed  out  of  the 
litter. 

At  night  we  give  a  wet  mash.  Of  course,  many 
breeders  do  not  believe  in  this  system,  but  reverse 
the  order,  giving  the  warm,  w^et  mash  in  the  morning, 
the  argument  being  that  the  birds  require  something 
easy  to  digest  quickly  as  they  may  not  have  had  a  feed 
since  the  afternoon  previous.  My  plan  is  based  on 
years  of  experience  and  1  find  that  with  a  morning 
fed  mash,  especially  on  cold  days  when  other  work 
is  necessary  they  get  lazy,  hop  out  and  stand  about 
on  one  leg  half  the  day,  getting  chilled  thoroughly. 
The  grain  feed  has  a  tendency  to  produce  the  opposite 
effect  and  the  warm  mash  late  in  the  day  makes  them 
feel  comfortable  and  restful  for  the  night. 

We  do  not  feed  the  mash  very  wet,  but  on  the 
crumbly  side.      It  is  made  as  follows: 

One  part  bran. 

One    part    biscuit    dust. 

One  part  middlings, 

Half  part  ground  oats, 

One   eighth   part   clover   meal. 

One  eighth  part  fish  meal,  or  meat  meal. 
With  this  they  are  fed  the  year  round.  This  is 
given  to  the  birds  in  their  troughs  and  as  much  as 
they  w^ill  eat.  If  we  consider  the  birds  are  getting  too 
fat  the  difference  made  is  that  we  scald  the  bran.  If 
on  the  thin  side,  then  we  add  a  portion  of  corn  meal. 
The  scalding  of  the  bran  will  open  the  bowels  of  the 
birds  and  so  reduce  flesh  without  injuring  their  gen- 
eral condition. 

40 


41 


The  mash  is  prepared  as  follows: 

A  boiler  holding  forty  gallons  is  filled  with  water 
and  into  this  is  put  the  clover  meal  and  about  three 
bucketfuls  of  oats  or  wheat.  This  is  steamed  well, 
but  not  necessarily  boiled.  The  bran,  biscuit  dust, 
ground  oats  and  Pollard,  are  put  into  the  mixing 
trough  and  mixed  well.  Then  the  steamed  mixture 
from  the  boiler  is  turned  over  this  and  the  whole  lot 
mixed  together.  The  mass  is  then  mixed  dry  or 
crumbly  with  middlings  and  meat.  After  this,  if  the 
mixture  is  still  too  wet,  we  add  some  more  biscuit 
dust,  until  the  mash  is  crumbly,  not  sloppy. 

In  putting  the  clover  meal,  etc.,  from  the  boiler 
on  to  the  bran,  biscuit  dust,  etc.,  in  the  trough,  you  will 
find  that  the  heat  is  not  sufficient  to  scald  the  batter 
thoroughly.  More  of  the  nutriment  of  the  feed  is 
therefore  left  in  it  than  if  properly  boiled.  This  keeps 
the  birds  in  good  condition.  Should  the  birds  get  too 
fat  then  scald  the  bran  as  a  wet  mash  by  itself.  You 
will  find  that  this  will  purge  the  birds  and  so  reduce 
the  fat. 

To  the  mixture  in  the  trough  mentioned  above 
about  twice  we  had  a  roup  powder  consisting  of  one 
part  epsom  salts,  one  part  magnesia,  one  part  sulphur 
and  one  part  ferri  sulph.  and  gave  in  the  proportion  of 
a  gill  to  every  1  00  birds.  This  prevents  a  good  many 
colds  the  birds  would  otherwise  have,  and  is  a  splendid 
cure  for  roup. 

If  there  has  been  an  outbreak  and  a  severe  one, 
of  colds,  add  to  each  gallon  of  the  drinking  water  as 
much  sulphate  of  copper  as  can  be  put  on  a  twenty- 

42 


five-cent  piece.  This  powder,  which  is  really  a  tonic, 
helps  the  birds  to  throw  off  the  effects  of  the  disease. 
It  is  also  good  for  young  chickens.  About  half  the 
amount  only,  once  or  twice  a  week  should  be  given 
the  youngsters.  I  consider  this  roup  powder  to  be  the 
best  obtainable. 

The  birds  are  fed  all  the  year  around  with  green 
stuff  although  more  is  given  them  during  the  colder 
months  when  they  are  unable  to  get  as  much  for 
themselves.  A  mangle  is  given  usually  each  day  to 
every  twelve  birds. 

There  is  nothing  worse  than  sun-warmed  water, 
and  water  that  has  gone  slighthly  green  through  being 
stale.  This  green  deposit  which  settles  on  the  sides 
and  bottom  of  the  vessel  is  scrubbed  off  regularly. 
We  do  not  mind  if  a  little  of  the  disinfectant,  with 
which  the  vessels  are  cleaned,  is  left  in  the  pot  after- 
wards, as  it  does  the  birds  no  harm,  but  good. 


43 


44 


CHAPTER  VI 
Housing  for  Breeding  Purposes 

A  picture  of  the  inside  of  one  of  my  breeding 
houses,  and  exterior  passages,  is  shown  herewith. 
Each  house  is  twelve  feet  long,  nine  feet  w^ide,  five  and 
one-half  feet  to  eaves,  and  eight  feet  to  gable. 

It  will  be  seen  it  has  a  rather  steep  roof  which 
runs  the  rain  off  quickly  and  preserves  the  material  a 
great  deal.  If  the  roof  is  battened,  or  stripped  over 
the  joints,  it  does  not  require  felting.  Personally,  I 
have  a  dread  of  felting  as  after  each  storm  there  is 
such  a  job  repairing  damage. 

The  house  is  fittted  with  a  dropping  board,  three 
feet  from  the  floor  and  one  foot  above  this  are  the 
perches.  The  dropping  board  is  2%  feet  wide,  and 
has  a  ledge  on  the  outside  edge  to  keep  all  material, 
such  as  peat  moss  and  chaff,  from  falling  to  the  floor. 

Taking  the  perches  back  to  front,  the  first  one  is 
one  foot  to  center,  and  the  next  one  fifteen  inches  to 
center.  This  does  not  overcrowd  the  birds  at  night. 
The  perches  being  on  the  same  level  stops  the  birds 
from  fighting  as  they  do  when  one  perch  is  higher 
than  the  other. 

A  partition  of  laths  divides  the  house  in  two  and 
a  door  allows  passage  through  the  house  to  trap  nests, 
etc.  The  laths  in  the  partition  are  closer  together  near 
the  ground  to  obviate  any  accident  to  the  birds  by 
getting   their   heads   fast. 

45 


In  one  line  on  the  south  side  are  fitted  the  trap 
nests,  2%  feet  from  the  floor.  The  dropping  board 
and  the  nests  being  well  above  the  floor  checks  the 
birds  from  laying  on  the  floor,  as  they  do  writh  shelves 
too  near  the  ground. 

Below  the  board  and  the  nests,  that  is  in  the 
north  and  south  walls,  are  four  windows,  eighteen 
inches  by  thirty  inches.  There  are  also  windows  let 
into  the  gable  ends.  These  thoroughly  light  up  the 
floor,  giving  the  birds  every  chance  to  scratch  out  the 
dry  feed  thrown  into  the  litter.  This  light  is  necessary 
as  the  house  is  a  scratching  shed  and  perching  shed 
combined. 

On  the  south  side  is  an  open  front  three  feet  long 
by  eighteen  inches  deep,  covered  w^ith  w^ire  mesh  (let 
down  or  pulled  up,  as  the  weather  may  require,  by 
rope  and  pulley  from  the  passage  between  the  houses). 
A  small  door  opens  into  the  run  slightly  above  the 
ground  level,  through  which  the  birds  reach  the  grass 
pens.  The  door  slides  in  grooves  and  is  worked  by 
rope  and  pulley  from  the  passage.  The  birds  are  thus 
let  out  without  entering  the  runs. 

Each  house  has  a  grass  run  of  20  yards  by  24 
yards  and  two  runs  adjoining  immediately  opposite 
the  middle  of  the  building  gives  each  pen  of  birds  a 
run  of  10  yards  by  24. 

In  the  early  spring  ten  hens  and  one  cockerel, 
White  Leghorns,  are  put  into  a  run;  (eight  females  and 
one  male,  if  White  Wyandottes).  We  have  found 
this  system  of  mating,  and  size  of  run  and  house,  do 
well  for  fertility.  This  last  season  seventy-five  per  cent 
of   all    eggs   put   into    the   incubators   hatched    out,    the 

46 


eggs    not    being    tested    beforehand.       Eighty-five    to 
ninety  per  cent  were  fertile. 

Another  system  we  tried  this  past  breeding  sea- 
son was  the  double  mating  which  did  very  well.  The 
arrangement  is  that,  say,  fifteen  White  Leghorn  pullets 
are  mated  with  two  brothers,  but  one  cockerel  is  made 
to  rest  for  five  days  in  a  special  spare  cockerel  coop 
(see  picture),  while  the  other  male  runs  with  the  birds. 

The  reason  for  this  is  that  we  have  found  that 
one  male  will  starve  itself,  even  to  death,  to  feed  its 
females,  but  the  enforced  rest  brings  them  back  into 
condition  again.  They  are  also  more  fertile  on  this 
plan  which  is  perhaps  only  natural. 

Now,  as  to  planning  the  cabins,  take  one  of  the 
breeding  house  lots  as  a  type  of  the  others.  It  has 
twelve  houses  on  each  side  of  the  passage  with  their 
twenty-four  grass  runs.  The  houses  have  their  length 
parallel  with  the  passage,  but  the  length  of  the  runs 
is  at  right  angles  to  this,  saving  a  lot  of  walking.  The 
alley  is  1  3  J/2  feet  wide,  and  although  the  houses,  on 
one  side  at  any  rate,  stand  in  this,  there  is  still  enough 
room  to  allow  of  the  easy  running  of  a  horse  and  cart 
through  the  whole  length. 

Doors  of  the  houses  open  into  the  passage  so 
that  it  is  possible  to  walk  almost  straight  along  through 
one  side  of  the  series,  thus  facilitating  feeding,  trap 
nesting  and  other  w^ork.  The  birds  are  also  watered 
directly  from  the  alley,  the  troughs  standing  in  the 
passage.  The  birds  reach  the  water  through  a  wooden 
frame  fifteen  inches  square,  with  round  upright  bars, 
lYl  inches  apart.  The  frame  is  fixed  upright  to  the 
ground    in   line   with    the   netting    of   the   pen.     Hence, 

A7 


birds  do  not  crowd  each  other  out  when  drinking  and 
it  checks  them  standing  on  the  edge  of  the  pot  and 
fouling  the  water.  An  illustration  shows  this  excellent 
arrangement. 

The  breeding  coops  on  legs  one  foot  long  and 
with  floors  of  round  bars  fairly  wide  apart  and  roofs 
slightly  sloping  from  front  to  back  are  virtually  all 
in  line  with  the  cabins  set  in  the  passage,  and  handy 
for  the  removal  of  would-be  sitters  from  the  breeding 
cabins.  This  places  the  birds  in  a  position  to  see  what 
is  going  on  and  helps  to  break  the  broodiness. 

Fruit  trees  are  planted  in  the  runs  and  these  afford 
shelter  to  the  birds  from  the  sun's  rays.  The  grass 
runs  are  boarded  on  each  side,  two  feet  high,  wire 
netting  three  feet  on  top  forming  a  division  five  feet 
hieh  The  boarding  protects  the  birds  from  strong 
winds.  It  also  stops  the  male  birds  from  fighting,  as 
they  will  if  they  can  see  and  get  at  each  other  through 
w^ire  mesh.  Fighting  brings  down  their  condition  and 
the  result  is  more  infertile  eggs. 

As  regards  ventilation  in  the  houses,  it  might  be 
mentioned  that  the  windows  in  the  gables  are  hopper 
pattern  and  when  the  weather  is  suitable  are  thrown 
open.  There  is  also  an  inch  special  ventilation  space 
between  the  actual  roof  and  the  ridge  capping. 


48 


49 


CHAPTER  VII 
Selection  of  Stock 

As  a  young  fellow  in  the  country  I  had  seen  any 
amount  of  poultry  kept  on  the  general  farms.  The 
prevalent  idea  was,  if  the  hens  laid,  well  and  good, 
but  if  not,  it  could  not  be  helped.  But  this  was  not 
my  w^ay.  Being  passionately  fond  of  poultry  keeping 
I  put  my  w^hole  mind  and  soul  into  it. 

First,  a  few  mongrel  birds  were  kept  and  account 
taken  of  the  sales.  They  paid.  I  got  a  little  money 
together  by  care  and  bought  some  stock.  But  here 
my  first  real  lesson  in  the  poultry  business  came  in. 
I  purchased  some  cockerels  to  mate  with  my  best 
layers.  They  were  gotten  from  a  noted  English  exhibi- 
tion breeder  who  produces  both  layers  and  exhibition 
birds.  These  w^ere  mated  w^ith  the  layers  that  I  had 
picked  with  my  own  eyes. 

The  progeny  w^ere  the  w^orst  layers  I  ever  had. 
It  would  have  been  far  better  had  I  given  the  breeder 
$1000,  than  to  have  bought  his  birds.  I  decided  to 
use  the  trap  nest  and  did  so  from  then  on. 

But  the  point  is  that  fine  feathers  do  not  make 
good  layers.  If,  as  I  believe  is  frequently  the  case, 
the  birds  are  culled  out  by  the  breeder  from  amongst 
his  prize  birds  and  sold  as  utility  birds,  for  breeding 
layers,  they  are  worse  than  useless.  It  is  my  advice 
to  anyone  to  get  the  best  they  can  to  start  w^ith,  even 
if  they  have  to  get  less  in  number. 

51 


As  to  the  best  breeds  I  do  not  want  to  tread  on 
anyone's  toes,  and  I  know  I  am  on  critical  ground, 
but  in  my  opinion  the  White  Leghorns,  White  Wyan- 
dottes,  Buff  Orpingtons  and  Buff  Rocks,  are  the  most 
profitable   utility   birds. 

If  you  cross  White  Leghorns  with  White  Wyan- 
dottes,  using  a  cockerel  of  the  former  by  preference, 
then  you  have  one  of  the  best  crosses  for  eggs  that  I 
know  of. 

Of  course  my  business  demands  that  I  shall  have 
these  breeds  as  pure  breeds  on  my  farm,  but  I  write 
from  previous  experience  and  also  know  of  one  among 
many  instances  where  a  farmer  who  had  125  of  this 
cross  in  one  pen  for  twelve  months,  got  eggs  from 
them  which  averaged  to  the  value  of  $5.00  per  bird, 
for  the  year. 

As  to  knowing  the  best  birds  for  laying  by  ap- 
pearance alone  is  chiefly  a  matter  of  personal  judg- 
ment, only  obtained  after  years  of  experience.  But 
some  of  the  best  may  be  selected  by  observing  the 
pictures  of  the  noted  layers  shown  in  this  book.  I 
may  say  that  I  do  not  think  it  possible  to  get  both 
perfect  layers  and  birds  for  table,  or  for  show,  what- 
ever breeds  are  used,  the  best  of  one  is  produced  only 
at  the  expense  of  other  qualities. 

Egg  laying  is  a  drain  on  the  system  w^hich  pro- 
duces muscle  in  the  bird,  but  does  not  produce  flesh 
suitable  for  the  table.  Show  points  of  a  breed  do 
not  go  hand-in-hand  at  all  with  the  best  type  bird  for 
laying. 

52 


53 


However,  I  breed  entirely  for  layers  and  birds  to 
breed  layers,  and  take  this  view  completely  in  this 
book.  The  only  safe  way  for  the  beginner  is  to  pro- 
cure stock  from  a  breeder  w^ho  has  systematically 
trap-nested   and   selected   his  birds  for  generations. 

If  I  were  selecting  a  pen  of  layers  for  a  laying 
competition,  first  of  all  I  should  certainly  know  how 
the  birds  had  been  bred  for  several  generations.  They 
would  have  to  be  bred  from  hens  that  had  laid  over 
200  eggs  in  their  pullet  year;  also  they  would  need  to 
be  sired  by  the  son  of  a  hen  that  had  laid  over  200 
eggs. 

But  independently  of  this  when  you  get  a  pen  of 
sisters,  bred  from  one  sire  and  one  dam,  you  will  find 
they  will  vary  a  great  deal  in  appearance. 

In  selecting  from  these  I  should  pick  out  the  ones 
with  the  longest  back,  the  broadest  back,  the  longest 
breast  bone,  rather  of  a  wedge  shape,  with  the  greater 
part  of  body  behind  her  legs;  a  sharp  eye,  fine  texture 
of  comb,  and  rather  straight  narrow  skull.  I  like  the 
eye  to  be  almost  protruding  from  the  socket,  as  if  the 
birds  were  staring.  And  the  tail  would  be  inclined  to 
go  forward  towards  the  head.  Some  people  call  this 
squirrel-tailed.     Birds  suit  me  best  short  of  leg. 

I  believe  in  the  small  bird,  as  I  have  found  after 
long  experience  that  the  large  bird  does  not  lay  the 
larger  egg,  nor  as  many  of  them,  as  the  small  bird. 

In  the  selection  of  stock  for  breeding  purposes, 
with  the  object  the  production  of  eggs,  pure  and 
simple,    there   are   laws   of   heredity   to   be   considered 

54 


which  are  quite  as  decided  and  strong  in  effect,  prob- 
ably, as  in  "fancy"  breeding,  and  these  must  be  ob- 
served generation  after  generation  to  get  the  tip  top 
layers. 

It  will  be  found  that  certain  of  the  pullets  do  not 
lay  as  well  as  their  sisters  do,  and  their  dams  did,  but 
yet  lay  eggs  of  a  larger  size,  better  shaped,  and  color. 
Then  the  idea  is  to  pick,  out  the  birds  that  lay  the 
most  and  best  eggs,  and  mate  up  with  the  cockerel 
showing  the  best  cockerel  utility  points. 

It  is  often  said  that  "like  breeds  like,"  but  there 
are  modifications.  Some  of  the  cockerels  may  have 
bred  too  long  in  the  leg;  this  must  be  considered  in 
the  next  mating. 

My  idea  of  the  best  male  for  producing  the  best 
breeders  of  layers  in  the  White  Leghorn  is  a  sprightly 
bird,  not  too  large,  with  good  straight  comb,  active, 
long  and  broad  breast  bone,  not  too  high  in  leg  and 
the  longest  part  of  the  body  behind  the  legs.  But 
these  outward  signs  must  never  overshadow  his 
recorded  pedigree.  His  toe  marks  when  examined 
must  show  that  his  parentage  on  both  sides  is  from 
birds  with  not  less  than  200-egg  record  for  the  year. 
No  cockerel  heads  a  breeding  pen  of  mine  unless  his 
record  indicates  this. 

As  to  color,  I  do  not  worry  much  about  that  in 
selecting  for  breeding  pens.  He  may  be  a  bit  brassy, 
or  sappy  on  top,  but  if  he  is  a  good  breeding  bird 
I  do  not  allow^  this  discoloration  to  weigh  in  my  de- 
cision. 

55 


Unfortunately,  some  people,  and  I  say  not  a  word 
against  them,  for  they  have  an  equal  right  to  their 
opinion,  although  wanting  eggs  badly,  still  cannot  get 
the  idea  of  "fancy"  out  of  their  heads.  1  have  seen 
many  instances  where  people  have  passed  over  a 
really  good  breeder,  because  the  bird  was  not  a  pure 
white,  and  select  a  much  inferior  bird,  from  the  utility 
point  of  view. 

The  question  of  birds  being  nicely  shaped  and 
good  colored,  does  not  influence  me  at  all  in  taking 
up  certain  breeds.  I  have  on  the  farm  at  the  moment 
of  writing,  four  breeds,  but  only  after  I  had  proved 
to  my  own  satisfaction  that  White  Leghorns,  White 
Wyandottes,  Buff  Orpingtons  and  Buff  Rocks  would 
suit  me  as  the  best  laying  breeds. 

Many  people  have  visited  my  farm,  both 
Britishers  and  Americans,  representing  the  "fancy"  as 
well  as  utility  poultry.  They  have  said  that  my  birds 
are  good  looking,  good  shape  and  color,  and  a  great 
many  of  them  typical  (and  this  is  backed  up  by  cus- 
tomers who  have  favored  us  with  testimonials)  but  I 
say  again,  they  are  not  bred  for  show  purposes,  only 
for  laying,   and  sold  as  such. 

I  do  not  show  myself,  for  if  I  did  I  should  never 
get  a  prize.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  our  exhibitors 
in  England  have  bred  for  the  bird  to  look  at,  never 
considering  that  a  bird  had  to  lay.  Size  is  the  great- 
est point  with  the  English  exhibitor.  Size,  color  and 
other  silly  things  are  carried  too  far. 

The  trap  nest  tells  us  that  the  smallest  birds  are 
the  best  layers,   and  the  best  cockerels  to  breed  from 

56 


57 


are  not  the  largest.  Then  why  in  the  world,  in  the 
exhibition  birds,  should  they  choose  the  largest  birds 
to  win? 

Take  the  White  Wyandotte.  The  exhibition  bred 
bird  is  short,  cobby,  shortbacked  and  of  a  tremendous 
size.  Now  the  same  bird  for  utility,  the  Wyandotte 
that  the  utility  men  of  England  use  and  breed  espe- 
cially for,  is  the  small  bird,  long  in  the  back  and  short 
on  leg.  These  are  good  enough  to  lay  over  200  eggs 
per  year,  while  the  exhibition  specimen  will  probably 
not  lay  more  than   1  00  in  the  same  time. 

See  w^hat  this  means  in  a  large  number  of  birds? 


58 


CHAPTER  VIII 
Trap  Nested  Birds 

Whether  everyone  agrees  with  trap  nesting  layers 
or  not,  it  is  quite  certain  that  breeders  who  adopt 
utility  breeding,  no  matter  what  breed  or  system  of 
mating  they  favor,  desire  to  know  which  pullets  are 
the  best  layers,  and  which  cockerels  have  the  best  ped- 
igrees. It  will  be  apparent  to  the  experienced  poultry- 
man  that  the  most  careful  observation  of  a  large  flock 
fails  to  show  exactly  which  are  the  best  layers.  It  is 
impossible  to  keep  count  of  all.  It  follows  then  that  a 
recording  system  must  be  adopted  to  pick  out  the  best 
layers  and  determine  their  year's  record. 

Some  twelve  years'  practical  experience  in  the 
use  of  the  trap  nest  has  convinced  me  that  this  system 
has  yet  to  be  improved.  Note  also  in  how  many  other 
ways  it  is  useful  and  pays  for  the  time  expended.  Yet, 
very  few  breeders,  a  handful  at  most,  have  gone  in  for 
it.  It  is  the  sum  total  of  economy  to  the  small  man, 
but  what  to  the  large?  The  latter  cannot  be  calcu- 
lated. Mammoth  firms  cannot  afford  to  provide  tons 
of  provender  for  birds  that  eat,  but  do  not  lay. 

Say  a  man  has  bought  some  birds.  He  may  look 
them  over  critically,  but  if  they  do  not  come  to  him 
with  their  records,  or  pedigrees,  he  has  no  idea  of 
their  capabilities.  But  supposing  we  give  him  credit 
for  a  certain  amount  of  judgment  and  the  birds  he  has 
bought  do  actually  lay  an  average  of  1  00  eggs  in  the 
year.      Why  should   he  not  have  paid  a  dollar  or  so 

59 


more  and  doubled  his  egg  output,  and  that  not  just  for 
the  first  year?  Look  at  the  result  of  purchasing  some 
good  trap  nested  layers,  on  a  farm  carrying,  say  5000 
layers  for  market  eggs  only,  and  in  the  United  States 
there  are  a  great  many  topping  this. 

Consider  the  satisfaction  of  buying  trap  nested 
birds,  and  pedigreed  cockerels,  for  the  day-old  chick 
business,  when  the  buyer  knows  that  the  parent  birds 
had  a  definite  pedigree  for  fertility  (the  male  being 
bred  from  vigorous  stock  for  generations),  and  the 
male's  dam  and  his  sire's  dam  had  actually  laid  over 
200  eggs  each,   in  the  year. 

The  man  also,  purchasing  eggs  for  custom 
hatching  knows  by  this  means  that  he  will  have  a  reli- 
able return  for  his  outlay. 

Some  people  have  the  mistaken  idea  that  trap 
nesting  the  birds  upsets  their  laying  capabilities,  and 
that  not  so  many  eggs  are  laid.  It  does  not  work 
out  so  in  practice,  but  rather  the  reverse,  from  the 
extra  care  and  watchfulness  they  actually  receive.  The 
laying  of  a  particular  pen  of  birds  is  virtually  a  guide 
as  to  the  amount  of  feed  to  give  them,  the  season  and 
other  points  considered.  Should  a  bird  unseasonably 
stop  laying  for  some  time,  it  would  point  to  some  de- 
fect or  illness  in  the  bird,  and  the  breeder  can  then 
get  to  the  bottom  of  it.  But  how  could  he  put  his 
finger  on  the  waster  without  such  record?  The  bird 
laying  the  undersized,  oversized,  misshapen  or  bad 
colored  eggs  is  soon  identified. 

An  experienced  man  in  handling  the  birds  fre- 
quently has  good  opportunities  of  noting  these  trouble- 
some   disorders   which    tend    to    reduce   the    eggs   laid 

60 


without  stopping  the  output  entirely.  It  is  also  an 
index  as  to  the  pullets  that  have  come  on  quickest  to 
lay,  and  is  a  guide  for  the  future  in  picking  out  these 
birds  which  will  lay  just  at  the  time  eggs  are  earning 
the  biggest  prices. 

An  item,  which  on  a  big  farm  may  become  a 
large  saving  or  leakage  is  the  broody  hen.  By  using 
the  recording  sheet  to  show  when  the  hen  was  taken 
off,  and  when  put  back  to  the  nest,  birds  will  not  be 
kept  off  unduly  and  some  eggs  lost. 

But  to  the  man  who  is  line  breeding  seriously  for 
utility  purposes,  this  trap  nest  system,  it  seems  to  me, 
is  indispensable.  I  cannot  see  how  he  would  do  without 
it.  To  carry  the  record  of  about  ten  generations  of 
a  score  of  birds  in  his  head  would  mean  a  remarkable 
memory  indeed. 

I  have  used  two  or  three  types  of  trap  nest  shown 
here,  but  the  one  in  general  use  at  the  moment,  al- 
though some  may  yet  improve  upon  it,  is  a  good  one. 
Each  nest  box  is  twenty  inches  from  back  to  front, 
and  twelve  inches  side  to  side.  The  shutter  at  front 
slides  down  in  grooves  and  is  four  inches  deep,  with 
legs  to  keep  it  from  sliding  fully  to  the  bottom. 

When  the  nest  is  open  this  shutter  is  held  up  from 
the  inside  by  a  frame,  with  its  pivots  resting  in  sockets 
inside  the  box,  at  the  sides. 

The  top  part  of  the  frame  is  weighted  and  catches 
on  a  small  ledge  on  the  inside  of  the  shutter.  The 
bottom  part  of  the  frame,  which  just  works  clear  of  the 
actual  nest  section  into  half  turn,  forms  a  treading  bar. 
The  hen  in  entering  the  nest  steps  on  the  broad  tread- 
ing bar.      Her  weight  pulls  the  bottom  of  the  frame 

61 


towards  her,  bringing  away  the  top  part  from  the  shut- 
ter, which  is  then  released  and  falls  gently  behind  her. 
The  frame  then  turns  back  again.  A  piece  of  wood 
1  Ya,  inches  high  divides  the  box  floor  in  half,  the  back 
portion  for  the  nest  proper  and  front  space  for  the 
swing  of  the  frame.  The  small  strip  also  keeps  the 
straw^  of  the  nest  in  place. 

The  hinged  lid  w^ith  just  a  bit  of  fixture  at  back 
virtually  covers  the  top  of  the  box  w^ith  half  inch 
over  the  front.  This  lid,  when  opened,  falls  back  to 
the  wall;  when  closed  (in  my  newest  type),  slopes 
sharply  from  the  wall  to  the  front.  This  stops  the 
birds  using  it  as  a  perch  at  night. 

The  trapped  bird  is  easily  taken  out  of  the  top 
of  the  nest  and  its  band  number  checked  on  its  record 
sheet.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  bird  is  actually  well 
into  the  box  when  she  treads  on  the  bar  and  the  shut- 
ter falls,  so  there  is  little  noise  to  frighten  her,  and  no 
danger  of  hurting  her  tail  when  the  shutter  falls.  The 
division,  the  frame  and  shutter  being  all  removable, 
leaving  a  plain  box,  can  be  readily  cleaned,  sprayed, 
and  has  no  crevices.  The  nests  are  so  conspicuous 
that  the  pullets  use  them  at  once  and  there  is  no  loss 
in  individual  records. 

Chopped  straw  about  a  foot  long,  fresh,  clean 
and  dry,  is  used  for  the  nest  itself.  This  is  changed 
frequently  in  the  summer  when  poultry  enemies  are 
most  numerous. 

My  recording  cards  each  contain  a  full  month's 
record  in  days  and  total.  There  are  some  fifteen 
sheets  attached  to  the  stiff  card  which  can  be  turned 

62 


over  round  the  bottom  of  the  card  where  they  are 
stapled  to  the  back,  so  that  each  bird's  full  year's 
record  may  be  taken  on  one  card.  The  month's  rec- 
ord is  carried  forward  on  the  next  sheet.  When  the 
card  is  completed  the  totals  are  taken  into  the  record- 
ing ledger  in  the  office  where  the  points  of  percent- 
age, the  mating  of  the  pen,  unmarketable  eggs,  moult- 
ing periods  and  misadventures  are  entered. 

If  a  man  has  a  stock  of  5000  layers  and  has  never 
used  a  cockerel  known  to  be  bred  from  a  hen  that  has 
laid  over  200  eggs  in  the  year,  it  is  quite  time  for  him 
to  begin  to  do  so.  If  he  would  only  trap  nest  a  few 
pens  and  breed  from  the  highest  laying  hen,  provided, 
of  course,  she  has  health,  vigor,  size  of  eggs,  color  of 
egg  and  stamina  on  her  side,  he  would  marvel  at  the 
results.  Cockerels  bred  from  such  a  hen,  mated  to 
large  flocks,  will  produce  from  twenty  to  fifty  eggs 
more  per  bird  per  year  than  if  the  selection  of  the  layer 
is  done  in  the  old-fashioned  w^ay. 

1  think  this  is  a  great  point,  and  too  much  stress 
cannot  be  laid  on  the  matter.  On  my  farm  we  trap 
nest  a  dozen  pens  of  each  breed,  and  these  are  mixed 
differently  each  year,  so  that  unrelated  stock,  as  near 
as  possible,  is  produced  each  season. 


63 


CHAPTER    IX 
Mating  to  Breed  Best  Layers 

The  way  that  my  birds  have  been  laying  that 
have  won  the  great  contests — the  Philadelphia  North 
American  International  Egg  Laying  Competitions  and 
National  Egg-Laying  Contest  at  Mountain  Grove,  Mo. 
— have  naturally  aroused  a  lot  of  interest.  The  ques- 
tion has  arisen  in  a  hundred  and  one  directions,  'How 
is  it  done?" 

I  will  tell  my  readers. 

As  an  example,  I  will  explain  the  way  I  bred  the 
birds  in  these  competitions.  For  illustration  and  to 
make  it  less  complex,  I  will  take  just  one  or  two  pens; 
the  principle  is  the  same  throughout. 

First,  I  select  three  pens  of  pullets  (see  selection 
of  breeding  stock),  and  these  pens  are  all  three  unre- 
lated one  to  the  other.  1  mate  each  pen  with  a  cock- 
erel (see  selection  of  cockerels),  also  unrelated  to 
each  other.  I  trap  nest  these  three  pens  the  first  year, 
and  say  the  records  are  then  as  follows: 

Pen  No.    1 

Pullets  ring  No 1 

Eggs  laid 150 

Pen    No.    2 

Pullets  ring  No 5 

Eggs  laid 150 

Pen    No.    3 

Pullets  ring  No 9 

Eggs  laid 150 

65 


2 
70 

3 
230 

4 
240 

6 
70 

7 
230 

8 
240 

10 
70 

11 
230 

12 
240 

The  eggs  laid  are  hatched  out  and  the  progeny 
toe  punched.  I  take  the  best  cockerel  from  the  best 
hen  (No.  4)  and  mate  him  up  to  the  best  pullets  from 
hen  No.  12,  and  vice  versa,  a  cockerel  from  No.  12  to 
the  best  pullets  from  hen  No.  4. 

I  trap  nest  second  year,  and  say  these  two  pens  are 
numbered : 

Pen    No.    4  Pen   No.    5 

Ring  No. .   13   14   15   16    17   18   19   20 
Eggs  laid..  150  170  200  240    150  170  200  240 

Hatch  out  the  eggs,  toe  punch  and  mate  cockerel, 
the  best  one  from  the  best  hen.  No.  1  6  to  his  own  sis- 
ters from  the  same  hen,  No.  1  6.  This  makes  the  prog- 
eny related.  I  trap  nest  the  third  year  this  brother 
and  sister,  mating  as  pen  No.  6. 

Pen    No.    6 

Ring  No 21  22  23         24 

Eggs  laid 40  60  80        120 

1  pick  out  the  best  pullets  from  the  best-laying 
hen  of  this  sister  and  brother  mating.  No.  24,  and  mate 
up  with  the  best  cock  of  the  initial  pen  No.  2  from  the 
best-laying  dam.  No.  8  hen. 

The  pullets  from  this  mating  are  the  ones  that 
go  into  the  competitions  and  make  such  remarkable 
egg-laying  records. 


66 


CHAPTER  X 

Specially  Written  for  This  Work  by  F.  V.   L.  Turner, 

Secretary  of  The  North  American  Egg 
Laying  Competitions 

The  Sign  of  a  Good  Hen — Some  Valuable  Feed  Hints 

"Well,  the  old  hen's  comb  is  frozen  and  she 
won't  lay  again  for  some  time." 

To  those  of  us  who  knew  the  country  in  our 
golden  youth  grandmother's  statement  carried  noth- 
ing more  than  a  bit  of  household  news,  uninteresting 
and  without  value,  so  far  as  we  were  concerned. 

Today  the  most  unobservant  poultry  breeder  is 
brought  up  with  a  jerk  when  the  frozen  comb  digs  into 
the  profits  of  his  flock. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to  deal  with 
methods  preventive  of  frozen  combs  and  consequent 
loss  in  egg  production;  proper  housing  is  a  preventive 
and  the  only  governing  factor  in  the  case. 

This  chapter  is  contributed  solely  as  an  educa- 
tional feature,  based  on  the  observance  of  the  laying 
and  the  non-laying  hen's  outward  characteristic,  indi- 
cating prolificacy  of  egg  yield. 

Our  grandmothers  knew  the  ill  effects  from  frozen 
combs;  little  did  they  know,  however,  of  the  co-rela- 
tion between  the  hen's  comb  and  egg  yield,  nor  the 
extent  to  w^hich  selection  of  the  layer  against  the  non- 
layer  could  be  carried  toward  increased  egg  yield, 
through  observance  of  headgear  development. 

67 


In  the  photograph  of  "Baroness  II"  a  remark- 
able development  of  comb  and  wattles  is  portrayed. 
Coupled  with  this  development,  the  characteristics  of 
depth  of  body,  flat  back  and  length  of  underline  all 
go  to  make  up  what  has  generally  been  considered  in 
America  as  the  egg  type.  In  addition  to  the  charac- 
teristics mentioned,  "Baroness  11"  is  possessed  of  a 
heavy  bone  structure,  full  breast  and  wide-set  legs. 
Whether  or  not  an  egg  type  exists  has  not  been  deter- 
mined by  any  laying  competition,  breeder  or  experi- 
ment station. 

What  has  been  determined  is  that  there  exists  a 
positive  co-relation  betw^een  comb  and  wattle  devel- 
opment, or  headgear,  and  ovarian  activity. 

The  poor  layer  pictured  laid  60  eggs  in  nine 
months:  a  casual  inspection  of  the  headgear  will  imme- 
diately make  plain  the  reason  for  this  article. 

Beyond  doubt,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  a  flock 
of  just  matured  pullets  may  be  separated  into  two 
classes,  the  poor  layers  separated  from  the  better. 
Further  determinations  as  to  the  laying  capacity  may 
be  made  by  close  attention  to  general  type,  the  trap 
nest  and  a  flock  of  heavy  layers  built  up  through  Bar- 
ron's system  of  mating. 

Reversion  to  type,  according  to  Mendel's  law  of 
heredity,  will  pull  down  the  total  number  of  good 
layers  each  year  by  the  degree  to  which  the  laying 
characteristic  is  indelibly  fixed. 

From  year  to  year  these  poor  layers  and  drones 
will  be  reduced  through  mating  according  to  the  sys- 
tem given  in  this  work,  and  always  there  will  be  the 
greater  growth  of  headgear  with  the  heavier  layer. 

68 


Closely  observing  the  general  make-up  of  the 
1500  layers  (500  having  been  employed  each  year 
in  the  egg  laying  competition  conducted  by  The 
North  American,  a  newspaper  published  in  Philadel- 
phia, two  years  at  Storrs  Agricultural  Experiment  Sta- 
tion, Storrs,  Conn.,  and  now  in  its  third  year  at  Thorn- 
dale,  Pa.)  this  headgear  development  has  ever  been 
a  subject  of  the  greatest  interest  to  the  writer.  That 
the  extent  of  headgear  development  is  significant  is 
fully  established  in  the  case  of  every  individual  layer 
w^ith  a  high  score;  equally  true  it  is  that  a  layer  with  a 
low  egg-laying  record  is  invariably  small  in  head- 
gear growth. 

By  far  the  greatest  headgear  growth  is  seen  in 
the  English  type  of  bird,  35  of  which  are  now  engaged 
in  making  egg  records  in  the  above  -  mentioned  egg- 
laying  competitions. 

Having  a  direct  bearing  on  the  subject  it  is  well 
to  state  that  up  to  the  present  moment  no  basis  of  cal- 
culation is  used  for  animal  food  values  other  than  the 
cow's  digestibility  of  ground  cereals,  whole  cereals 
being  calculated  by  the  same  process. 

This  matter  of  feeds  is  brought  up  at  this  point 
in  order  that  the  minds  of  poultry  raisers  may  be  free 
of  any  erroneous  impressions  as  to  the  value  of  one 
ration  over  another,  when  each  is  constructed  along  the 
same  lines,  and  because  of  the  utter  lack  of  connec- 
tion between  ovarian  activity  and  headgear  perfection 
with  any  specific  ration.  In  order  to  show  that  the 
utmost  in  ovarian  activity  is  not  dependent  on  any 
specific  ration,  formulae  used  in  the  Missouri  Egg 
Laying  Contest  and  The  North  American  Egg  Laying 

69 


SINGLE-COMB   WHITE    LEGHORN 
60    Eggs   in   Nine   Months 


70 


SINGLE-COMB   WHITE    LEGHORN 
256    Ej4gs    in    49    Weeks 


71 


Competition  are  given  herewith.  Attention  is  called 
to  the  wide  difference  betw^een  the  rations  used  in  the 
two  contests  and  the  ration  employed  by  Barron.  The 
ration  used  by  Barron  to  rear  his  layers  to  the  point 
of  maturity  differs  conspicuously  from  that  used  by  the 
American  breeder  who  raised  the  White  Plymouth  Rock 
pullet  that  ran  up  the  remarkable  score  of  281  eggs 
in  the  first  year  of  the  Missouri  Contest.  Of  course, 
all  of  the  rations  given  are  theoretically  adopted  to 
maximum  egg  production  coincident  with  body  main- 
tenance, all  of  the  layers  showing,  in  practice,  an 
actual  increase  in  weight  at  the  end  of  the  competition. 

The  rations  in  the  Missouri  Contest  have  been 
rearranged  each  year;  the  rations  used  in  The  North 
American  Competition  have  been  rigidly  adhered  to 
through  the  three  years. 

In  the  Missouri  Competition  the  following  was 
the  method  of  feeding: 

Grain    Mixture 


200 

lbs. 

cracked    corn 

200 

lbs. 

wheat 

100 

lbs. 

oats 

Dry   Mash 

100 

lbs. 

wheat  bran 

200 

lbs. 

middlings 

200 

lbs. 

cornmeal 

200 

lbs. 

ground  or  rolled  oats 

150 

lbs. 

beef   scrap 

75 

lbs. 

alfalfa 

50 

lbs. 

gluten  meal 

25 

lbs. 

old  process  oilmeal 

8 

lbs. 

fine  table  salt 

25 

lbs. 

charcoal 

72 


One  half-pint  of  grain  mixture  was  fed  in  the 
litter  in  the  morning  to  each  pen  of  five  birds,  and 
slightly  more  at  night. 

Sprouted  oats  fed,  too. 

The  dry  mash  was  continually  before  the  birds 
in  the  hopper,  and  at  1  o'clock  every  day  about  a 
handful  of  the  same  mash  was  moistened  w^ith  either 
skim  or  buttermilk  and  fed  in  a  trough.  Each  pen  also 
receives  daily  a  handful  of  sprouted  oats,  which  daily 
practice  will  be  continued. 

In  the  second  Missouri  Contest  a  slight  change 
will  be  made  in  the  scratch  grain  mixture;  in  the  sum- 
mer months  one  part  corn  and  two  parts  wheat  w^ill 
be  the  ration,  and  in  the  w^inter  months  two  parts  corn 
and  one  of  wheat  will  be  fed. 

To  care  for  the  loss  of  oats  in  the  grain  mixture 
the  ground  oats  portion  of  the  dry  mash  will  be  in- 
creased to  300  pounds,  the  beef  scrap  will  be  increased 
to  250  pounds,  the  charcoal  to  35  pounds. 

In  the  Philadelphia  North  American  Contest  the 
following  was  the  method  of  feeding: 

Dry   Mash 

Coarse  bran 200  lbs. 

Cornmeal 100  lbs. 

Gluten    feed 100  lbs. 

Ground    oats 1  00  lbs. 

Standard    middlings.  ...     75  lbs. 

Fish   scrap 30  lbs. 

Low-grade  flour 25  lbs. 

73 


Scratch    Grain 

Cracked  corn 60  lbs. 

Wheat 60  lbs. 

Heavy  white  oats 40  lbs. 

Barley 20  lbs. 

Kaffir  corn 10  lbs. 

Buckwheat    10  lbs. 

Coarse  beef  scraps 10  lbs. 

For  green  food  in  such  portions  of  the  year  that 
it  cannot  be  grown  in  the  yard  dried  beef  pulp  was 
used  in  the  following  manner:  A  sufficient  quantity, 
one  1 6-quart  pail  for  500  layers,  was  allowed  to 
absorb  all  the  water  possible  and  fed  daily. 
The  coarse  beef  scrap  used  in  the  scratch  grain  mix- 
ture is  secured  by  sifting  the  ordinary  beef  scrap;  the 
residue  of  coarse  stuff  is  then  mixed  with  the  scratch 
grain  and  placed  in  the  automatic  feeders,  where  the 
layers  work  it  out  in  the  usual  manner,  but  the  auto- 
matics are  not  put  into  operation  until  3  P.  M.  The 
dry  mash  mixture  is  fed  in  pans.  The  mash  is  before 
the  layers  at  all  times. 

As  a  matter  of  general  information,  the  high- 
scoring  individual  in  the  first  North  American  event 
was  a  Kentucky  reared  Rhode  Island  Red,  with  256 
eggs  to  her  credit.  The  winning  pen  of  five  birds  (Bar- 
ron's White  Leghorns)  in  the  second  year  of  The 
North  American  affair  averaged  238  eggs.  Each  indi- 
vidual in  this  pen  had  the  same  splendid  head  devel- 
opment peculiar  to   "Barron-ess  II.'* 

Laying  1  05  eggs  in  1  1  9  days,  between  November 
1st,  1913,  and  February  28th,  1914,  the  Barred 
Plymouth  Rock  pullet  shown  on  page  75  is  character- 

74 


BARRED    PLYMOUTH    ROCK 

253    Eggs    in    47    Weeks 


75 


ized  by  the  same  headgear  development  as  are  the 
Leghorns  or  any  other  breed  or  variety  that  lays  in 
excess  of  the  average.  Quite  a  little  discussion  relative 
to  the  laying  capacity  of  the  exhibition,  or  show,  bird 
has  been  set  at  rest  by  laying  competitions. 

An  exhibition  specimen  of  Leghorn  is  shown  on 
page  71,  with  a  record  of  256  eggs  in  49  weeks;  in 
this  case  the  headgear  shows  a  development  consistent 
with  egg  output. 

Increasing  the  egg  yield,  however,  must  be  accom- 
plished through  matings  on  Barron's  lines  either  with 
utility  or  show  birds;  that  is,  a  foundation  for  building 
a  laying  strain  may  be  just  as  surely  laid  with  show 
birds  as  so-called  utility  fowls. 


Summary  of  Talk  Tom  Barron  Had  With  T.   E.   Fris- 
caberry.  Director  State  Poultry  Experimental  Sta- 
tion, Mountain  Grove,  Mo. — Mr.  Friscaberry 
Is  in  Charge  of  the  Missouri  Egg 
Laying   Contest 

IS  THERE  A  POSITIVE  EGG  TYPE? 

Everything    Indicates    That   There   Is    an   Egg   Type   in   Poultry, 

the  Same  as  There  Is  a  Dairy  Type  in  Cattle — "But  What 

Is  the  Correct  Type?" — That  is  the  Question 

All  signs  sometimes  fail,  and  there  are  exceptions 
to  all  rules,  but  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  there  is  a 
definite  type  in  poultry  which  indicates  productiveness 
the  same  as  a  good  dairyman  finds  that  certain  char- 
acteristics and  a  certain  conformation  in  cattle  indicate 

76 


the  productiveness  or  non-productiveness  of  certain 
individuals.  Among  other  things,  it  is  generally  agreed 
that  to  be  a  good  milker  a  cow  must  be  healthy  and 
vigorous,  she  must  have  a  big  body  or  plenty  of  capac- 
ity and  she  must  have  a  large  udder  and  large  milk 
veins.  The  more  we  study  the  productiveness  in  poul- 
try the  more  firmly  we  are  convinced  that  the  same 
general  principles  apply  to  the  productive  hen:  that 
there  is  an  egg  type  in  poultry  and  the  day  will  come, 
if  it  is  not  now  at  hand,  when  we  can  tell  in  a  general 
w^ay  the  good  from  the  bad  by  certain  and  definite 
characteristics.  Of  course,  in  the  dairy  business  the 
"Babcock  test"  is  the  final  test  of  the  quantity  of  but- 
ter fat,  and  just  so  with  poultry,  the  trap  nest  will 
perhaps  always  be  the  final  test. 

Mr.  Tom  Barron,  of  Catforth,  England,  recently 
visited  this  place,  and  while  here  we  had  him  visit 
seven  or  eight  different  yards  and  point  out  one  or 
two  good  and  bad  hens  in  each  yard.  He  did  so,  and 
after  he  had  left  we  looked  up  the  records  in  each  case 
and  found  that  the  hens  which  he  claimed  were  of 
poor  type  and  poor  producers  were  among  the  poorest 
layers,  as  verified  by  our  records.  In  one  case  we  had 
a  White  Orpington,  which  had  not  laid  an  egg,  and  she 
was  in  a  pen  with  eleven  other  hens.  The  hens  were 
driven  before  him,  and  at  first  glance  he  picked  out 
this  hen,  which  was  a  blank  so  far  as  production  was 
concerned.  The  hen  was  in  good  health  and,  to  the 
ordinary  observer,  looked  about  like  any  of  the  others. 
He  pointed  out  the  good  and  bad  in  other  pens  with- 
out handling  a  single  hen.  The  trap-nest  records 
verified  his  statements. 

77 


We  believe  that  any  man  with  reasonable  intelli- 
gence who  studies  year  after  year  the  question  of  selec- 
tion and  breeding  for  egg  production,  as  Mr.  Barron 
has  done,  will  get  a  certain  and  definite  type  firmly 
fixed  in  his  mind,  just  as  is  true  in  his  case  as  is  true 
with  the  dairyman.  What  is  this  type?  That  is  the 
question. 

We  discussed  this  and  other  questions  with  Mr. 
Barron  for  several  days.  While  we  will  not  quote  his 
exact  words,  and  we  hope  not  to  misquote  him,  yet  we 
feel  safe  in  saying  that  he  believes  the  follo^ving  to  be 
true:  An  egg-laying  strain  cannot  be  produced  by  in- 
breeding. In  order  for  a  hen  to  be  a  good  producer 
she  must  be  in  good  health  and  full  of  vigor.  In  his 
own  case  he  has  not  bred  from  a  male  for  years  which 
was  not  bred  from  hens  which  laid  200  eggs  or  over, 
and  he  recommends  that  method.  He  does  not  try  to 
overdo  the  thing,  and  has  not  bred  for  the  300-egg  hen 
and  over.  His  best  record  was  283  eggs  in  one  year. 
He  breeds  for  high  averages  instead  of  exceptionally 
high  individuals,  and  this  has  been  true  with  both 
pens  which  he  has  had  in  our  egg-laying  contests  at 
this   place. 

A  good  layer  usually  stands  high  in  front  and  the 
back  is  not  level  or  the  rear  higher  than  the  front.  The 
best  producers  usually  have  large  combs,  a  high  tail 
and  a  prominent,  large,  bright  eye.  Upon  handling 
the  birds  he  finds  that  most  of  the  best  layers  have 
thin,  straight  pelvic  bones;  that  there  is  qujte  a  dis- 
tance between  the  points  of  the  pelvic  bones  and  the 
point  of  the  breastbone.  This  indicates  capacity  and 
lots   of  room   for   the   egg   and   digestive   organs.      He 

78 


likes    the    wedge    shape,    rather    narrow    in    front,    but 
wide  behind  and  wide  between  the  legs. 

Mr.  Barron  agrees  that  the  males  must  be  from 
high  laying  hens.  He  also  advises  looking  well  to  the 
females  and  using  hens  which  have  shown  they  are 
able  to  make  good  records.  A  hen  that  will  not  lay 
well  in  winter  months  is  discarded  by  him,  for  a  hen 
that  doesn't  lay  well  in  winter  will  not  make  a  good 
record,  as  a  rule,  and  he  wishes  to  breed  hens  that  lay 
eggs  when  eggs  are  highest  in  price.  He  uses  two 
males  in  his  breeding  pens,  alternating  them  every 
five  days.  The  males  are  full  brothers,  as  a  rule.  He 
thus  gets  better  fertility,  stronger  chicks  and  better 
hatches,  he  thinks.  Broodiness  will  ruin  the  egg  rec- 
ord of  any  hen.  We  must  breed  to  eliminate  that 
from  our  flocks  as  much  as  possible.  There  is  a  blocky, 
beefy  type  in  every  variety,  which  does  not  lay.  He  ad- 
vises not  to  trap  nest  the  entire  flock,  but  trap  nest  at 
least  a  few  of  the  most  promising  ones.  Keep  accurate 
records,  pedigree  the  chicks,  and  results  are  sure  to 
follow.  There  must  be  regularity  in  feeding.  He  be- 
lieves we  should  feed  more  moistened  mashes,  and 
also  believes  in  some  cases  that  it  pays  to  soak  the 
grain.  A  hen,  in  order  to  make  a  good  record,  must 
produce  quite  a  large  number  of  her  eggs  in  winter 
months.  His  experience  has  been  that  the  first  pullets 
of  a  brood  to  begin  laying  make  the  best  layers,  and  the 
first  cockerels  to  crow^  usually  make  the  best  breeders 
for  egg  production.  Mr.  Barron's  views  coincide 
largely  with  our  own  and  with  the  results  which  have 
been  obtained  at  this  Experiment  Station.  We  have 
made  a  very  careful  study  of  these  matters  for  several 
years,  and  we  had  reached  the  same  conclusions  about 
most  things,  even  before  talking  to  Mr.  Barron. 

79 


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